Nashville House Flipper Charged with Bank Fraud

Kirk Douglas Westaka Kirk R. Leipzigwas charged with two counts of bank fraud by Information in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville Division.) The Information alleges that Leipzig inflated his income and net worth on personal financial statements and/or loan application documents submitted to Reliant Bank and submitted fraudulent or forged documents to support the misrepresentations – including a consulting agreement purporting to guarantee income of approximately $300,000 a year for multiple years, W-2 forms, a pay stub, and income tax returns. Based on these misrepresentations, Reliant Bank disbursed two loans, the first on December 4, 2008 for $610,000 secured by 9569 Hampton Reserve Drive, Brentwood Tennesseeand the second on March 1, 2010 for $1,600,000 secured by 4303 Harding Place, Nashville, Tennessee. The information also seeks forfeiture.

Leipzig’s real estate investment success was featured in the Forbes article “Flipping for Profit” on July 8, 2008. According to the Nashville Post, Greg Sturgeon filed a complaint in the Davidson County Chancery Court in March 2013, which was dismissed with prejudice a short time later, alleging that Leipzig, the manager of Home Equity Asset Partners, promised him a return on investment for contributing $60,000 to an East Nashville house flip and, that while Leipzig sold the home for $457,000 after purchasing it for $135,000, he had quitclaimed the property to Home Equity Asset Partners without Sturgeon’s knowledge and only returned about $40,000 of Sturgeon’s initial investment. The article also refers to other lawsuits against Leipzig, including lawsuits by two banks which claimed Leipzig failed to repay loans in 2011 and 2012. A May 2013 article in the Nashville Post states that the City of Belle Meade filed a lawsuit against a land trust that owns a dilapidated property – the trustee of the trust being listed as under the care of Leipzig – claiming the property’s condition violated numerous codes.

Leipzig and his trust were also the subject of involuntary bankruptcy filings by creditors in 2014.

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